Death Stranding Teased For 2019 Release Again, This Time By Troy Baker

Looks like this really might be the year of the whale.

In the absence of even a rough release window for the game, as well as concrete information about much to do with it, many people have simply assumed that Death Stranding is a ways off yet, and that it might not be until 2020 (at least) that we get to play it. That said, recently, there has been an increasing amount of evidence that suggests that, surprisingly enough, it might actually launch this year. Norman Reedus, who plays the game’s protagonist, has suggested as much, while director Hideo Kojima himself has also hinted at the same (not to mention publishers Sony as well).

Now, another person associated with the upcoming PS4 exclusive has hinted that the game might launch in 2019- Troy Baker, who we learned will be playing a role in Death Stranding through an amazing trailer unveiled at TGS last year. Baker recently put up a tweet showing side-by-side images of Snow Villiers, the character he played in Final Fantasy 13, and the character he will be playing in Death Stranding, accompanied with the caption: “#2009v2019 …?”

Of course, it’s worth pointing out that Final Fantasy 13 came out in 2010, not 2009, but that’d be getting a bit pedantic- because the point of that tweet very much seems to the 2019 bit, and the “…?” bit that follows certainly lends credence to the belief that Baker is teasing the hell out of something. In isolation, all the recent teases we’ve received for Death Stranding’s release date might not seem like much, but put together, they certainly are giving the impression that it will indeed launch in 2019. That said, there’s also the chance that that’s just my wishful thinking, so don’t take my word for it.

Meanwhile, in somewhat related news, we also got a bit of an update on how the game’s development is coming along through a tweet by Aki Saito, head of marketing and communications at Kojima Productions. Saito revealed that the footage that Guerrilla Games were shown, which we reported on recently, was the entire first two hours of the game, before adding that the game “is not fully completed…yet”. Again, that, too, seems to give the idea that the game’s nearing completion.

None of this is anything more than speculation at this point, but here’s hoping we get some official word from Kojima or Sony soon. Stay tuned to GamingBolt for any updates.

Showed the first 2 hours of gameplay to our Guerrilla brothers. Yes, Hideo was demonstrating it! (The game is not fully completed…yet) The picture show’s the friendship between us! Keeps our mutual secrets here! pic.twitter.com/UejLW2oAeb